I don't think that I would ever, while writing, think to myself, "I need a little more psychological realism."

Ironically, writing a novel is not a way to sort out your confusion.

I do think I was trying to entertain the reader more than I was trying to purge myself.

People who think my books are autobiographical, which they're not, credit me with having a much better memory than I do. I do, however, have a powerful imagination

I guess I consider myself at times to have intuition.

I was 16 years old, attending boarding school, and I loved Pride and Prejudice. From the opening pages, I loved it. And I will say in my class, not one but two boys told me that I reminded them of Lizzy Bennet. I didn't realize it at the time but this was the nicest thing that any male would ever say to me. This was as good as it got.

Perhaps this is how you know you're doing the thing you're intended to: No matter how slow or how slight your progress, you never feel that it's a waste of time.